I represent the first generation who, when we were born, the television was now a permanent fixture in our homes. When I was born people had breakfast with Barbara Walters, dinner with Walter Cronkite, and slept with Johnny Carson.
Read the full "Pre-ramble"

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Geri Jewell: Next on TVC

Actress, comedienne and author Geri Jewell will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Mar. 27-Apr. 2 at the following times and venues:

Indiana Talks Marion, IN Wednesday 3/27 11am ET, 8am PT with replays at various times throughout the week Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com

Born with cerebral palsy, Geri Jewell made television history on Dec. 24, 1980 when she first appeared as Cousin Geri on The Facts of Life, the first character with a disability to appear on a regular basis on a prime time network series, while also continuing to break ground as a stand-up comedienne in such noted venues as The Comedy Store and The Improv. Geri’s book, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can: Transcending Disability in Hollyw..., is a very candid and poignant look at some of the obstacles that Geri has had to overcome throughout her life and career — some of which had to do with living with cerebral palsy, some of which had to accepting her sexuality, but a lot of which had to do with the nature of people and the entertainment industry itself.

Geri Jewell recently received the venerable Golden Halo Award from the Southern California Motion Picture Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes the “Best of the Best” in film and television. We’ll talk about that, as well as ask about Geri’s work with the likes of Jane Fonda, Patty Duke, Robby Benson, Norman Lear and, of course, Charlotte Rae and Lisa Whelchel when she joins us in our second hour.

Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour for an expanded edition of This Week in TV History that will include a look back at the 50th anniversary of the premiere of General Hospital, and the fifth anniversary of the death of Academy Award-winning actor Charlton Heston. Though we don’t always think of Heston in terms of television, he did play Moses in The Ten Commandments, which for many of us has been an Easter weekend tradition on TV for more than three decades.

CHILD OF TELEVISION @ iTunes

Pre-ramble

I represent the first generation whom, when we were born, the television was now a permanent fixture in our homes. When I was born people had breakfast with Barbara Walters, dinner with Walter Cronkite, and slept with Johnny Carson.
Read the full "Pre-ramble"